Next up, 1983 Italo classic and recently reissued – Big Ben Tribe ‘ Tarzan Loves The Summer Nights’.
“Tarzan Loves The Summer Nights” was recorded in Milan in the Spring of 1983 and released on Gong Records in 1984. The band created their signature sound using a Mini Moog, Prophet 5, Korg Synthesizer, LinnDrum, Alembic Bass and Fender Stratocaster. Guest vocalist Clara Moroni softly sings about a romantic jungle dream adventure where she is living with the handsome and brave Tarzan. Strong LinnDrum percussion serves as a counterpoint to the infectious vocal melody and catchy synth hooks. The B-side features an instrumental version with extended breaks and dubbed out bass lines.’
There are numerous benefits to physically going out, walking into a record shop and buying records. Personally the most idea central to record collecting is that of serendipity. Soundcloud, the blogosphere, beatport and juno all have their benefits and to ignore them would be daft. Dependent on who you follow, like or have previously purchased you are generally fed a stream of music from artists that you already know. The beauty of walking into a record shop is the opportunity to break free of your ‘feeds’ and potentially hear something new (or old) that excites you and that you wouldn’t have found otherwise.
Walking into Underground Solushn in Edinburgh last week and hearing this on the system instantly grabbed my attention. Initial impressions were that this was a new production, but not so.
Saâda Bonaire were formed in Bremen, Germany and were a sultry disco / world music duo that never gained the recognition they deserve. The double LP re-issued by Captured Tracks doesn’t come cheap but is worth every penny. What’s interesting is their use of musicians from the local immigration centre and the Eastern flavours they infuse throughout. You can read more about the album in more detail on the Captured Tracks website (here). Anyway, below are a couple of picks from the album.
Just a quick reminder about our radio show, ‘Crucial und Fresh’ this evening. We will be broadcasting directly from Hoxton’s very own MeatMISSION, going live on MEATtransMISSION radio from 8pm. Expect an eclectic selection of our current favourites, both weird and wonderful, Saâda Bonaire included. Stream it here.
I have been trying to get out of the habit of posting mixes that aren’t exclusively for the site however this came into my life (courtsey of Saul W) and it’s too good not to share. Everything about this mix is perfect and it sounds unbelieveably authentic. Particularly into the ‘BMX!’ voice over throughout. This mix has serious energy, so many belters. Watch out for the fluctuating sound quality. Image Credit: Paul Outerbridge
‘So this is a mix that aired in the mid 1980’s on Chicago’s WBMX the show was the “Saturday Night Live Ain’t No Jive Dance Party” the Hot Mix 5 were the main DJ’s but every week they put on a “guest DJ” this night Myself and Robert Rojo were guest’s of Ralphi Rosario.
This first hour of the mix is from Robert and the last hour is my mix. It’s such a great treat to have uncovered this long lost reel to reel tape in my partner Miguel Garcia’s basement and be able to hear all the different types of dance music we were playing on the radio back then, I mean no one else was giving airtime to dance records, not to mention import dance records from Europe. a lot of the tracks you’ll hear were “only” played during the mix shows or in the nightclubs of the time. Enjoy!’
‘Latin Freestyle‘,a sound that I have been listening to for a while now but didn’t have a name for it. Regardless of which pigeon hole you want to park it in it shouldn’t be ignored. Here it’s a stabbing bass line, coupled with a signature weak ‘Latin Freestyle’ vocal that makes it. That’s what gets me through.
I can’t seem to find anything about this group. I suppose it doesn’t really matter. The song does all the speaking here. It’s big and Italian and wants you to fancy it.
Big thanks to the Boys at Juice for last night. I had the pleasure of playing back 2 back with the big man Craig Pugz. If ever there was time to apply the word sweatbox it was last night. Folk were crowd surfing.
The song below was a personal highlight for me. Pour some of this in at 2.05 am, give it a stir & see what happens..
Credit for this one has to go to She Likes 12 Inches. That site is packed with zip files of hard to find reggae, funk and disco albums. If being electronically unethical is your thing, get there. I’ve previously posted on Zapp & Roger Troutman here. Happy Friday.
the players association 